Monday, June 21, 2010

Time to Stand Up to National Standards

"National standards would also further remove parents from their children’s education. Instead of being able to petition their local school boards or state leaders for changes in academic content, parents would have to lobby bureaucrats in Washington, DC, if they wish to see changes in what their child is learning.

This is perhaps the most worrisome part of the shift toward national standards. If imposed, parents and taxpayers will no longer be able to retain one of their most significant tools for education reform: the power to shape their schools’ academic content, standards, and testing.

Instead of moving toward a system of rigid national standards, which would represent an unprecedented federal overreach into education, states should empower parents with information about school performance and increase transparency about academic achievement. And ultimately, parents should be able to use that information to choose a school that meets their child’s needs. We know what works in education, and it begins and ends with parents–not the federal government."

Amen and amen!

I'm excited to see a prominent conservative group like Heritage speak up. Common Core State Standards is moving forward with individual states deciding whether or not to adopt the standards. I just hope it's not too little, too late.

I've talked to many think tanks and politicians and they all seem to think this is "inevitable." Not me. I believe this can be defeated but it won't happen unless parents and professing conservative politicians and others begin to speak up and say, "enough."